warns that one in five teenagers now suffers from hearing loss — a significant jump when compared with previous generations.

American researchers studied data from two sets of hearing tests performed on more than 1,700 American teenagers (aged 12 to 19) in 1988, 1994, 2005 and 2006. The early tests found nearly 15% of teens had some hearing loss, but the later tests found a 31% increase — nearly one in five of teens was not hearing as well as they could.

The researchers saw no difference in estimated noise exposure between the two periods in the study, but said a recent study of children with slight to mild hearing loss in Australia found that “reported use of personal stereo devices was associated with a 70 percent increased risk of hearing loss.”

The type of damage found by researchers conducting the study isn’t usually associated with exposure to loud noises, although doctors aren’t ruling out blaring music as a possible cause. Some audiologists say the causes may be related to an increase in certain genetic disorders, for example, or the fact that premature babies, who are often more susceptible to hearing loss as they get older, have better survival rates than ever before.

that hearing loss can affect children’s social development, education and ability to communicate. Even a small amount of hearing impairment can “create a need for speech therapy, auditory training and special accommodations,” the

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